Vehicle interior lighting and illumination

ABSTRACT

One or more light sources, one or more detectors, a processor, and a controller are configured to provide spot illumination that follows a moving object, a moving occupant, or a portion of a moving occupant in the vehicle.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/785,124 filed Dec. 26, 2018, which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to lighting, in particular to interiorvehicle lighting.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Interior lighting in a vehicle may be used to illuminate an occupant,illuminate an area, such as the lap of an occupant who may be looking ata book, map, or electronic device and/or to illuminate a surface orobject of the interior of the vehicle such as a seat or floor of thevehicle, a door handle, lock, window crank, or switch for locks orwindows, outline of gauges, entertainment devices, seating area, footarea, or arm rest areas.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This specification discloses systems, devices, and methods in which oneor more light sources, one or more detectors, a processor, and acontroller are configured to provide spot illumination that follows amoving object, a moving occupant, or a portion of a moving occupant inthe vehicle.

The light sources may be or comprise LEDs, for example arrays ofmicroLEDs.

These and other embodiments, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art whentaken with reference to the following more detailed description of theinvention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings that are firstbriefly described.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example embodiment of a vehicle interiorlight system as disclosed herein.

FIG. 2 is a more detailed block diagram of an example embodiment of avehicle interior light system as disclosed herein.

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, respectively, show plan and schematic views of anexample M×N matrix pixelated microLED that may be used in light sourcesin an interior vehicle lighting system as described herein.

FIG. 4A shows a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a portion ofan example M×N matrix pixelated microLED that may be used in lightsources in an interior vehicle lighting system as described herein.FIGS. 4B and 4C show schematic plan views of example arrangements of nand p electrodes in the example microLED.

FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B each show schematic partial cross-sectional views ofportions of other example M×N matrix pixelated microLED that may be usedin light sources in an interior vehicle lighting system as describedherein.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a portion ofanother example M×N matrix pixelated microLED that may be used in lightsources in an interior vehicle lighting system as described herein.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a portion ofanother example M×N matrix pixelated microLED that may be used in lightsources in an interior vehicle lighting system as described herein, incombination with a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a portionof a CMOS silicon back plane that may be used to switch pixels in thearray on and off.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description should be read with reference to thedrawings, in which identical reference numbers refer to like elementsthroughout the different figures. The drawings, which are notnecessarily to scale, depict selective embodiments and are not intendedto limit the scope of the invention. The detailed descriptionillustrates by way of example, not by way of limitation, the principlesof the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a vehicle interior light system comprises one ormore light sources employed as illuminators or projectors, one or moredetectors configured to detect motions of objects or occupants(passengers or operators) of the vehicle, and a computing module thatcomprises a processor configured to receive and process signals form theone or more detectors and a controller configured to receive signalsfrom the processor and in response control the one or more lightsources.

As summarized above, the vehicle illumination system can provide spotillumination that follows a moving object, a moving occupant, or aportion of a moving occupant in the vehicle.

Also as shown in FIG. 1, the system may further comprise a transceiverallowing it to communicate with another processor in the vehicle, orwith a network, for example to receive instructions from an occupant ofthe vehicle.

Appropriate color of lighting may be selected based on such parametersas, for example, the speed of the vehicle, the ambient lighting,consideration for the driver and vehicles in the vicinity, reduction inglare and preservation of night vision.

The lighting may be adjusted by the user from, for example, inputvehicle controls or interface, mobile device user interface andcommunication systems, and vehicle to vehicle, vehicle to occupant, andvehicle to network communication systems. Inputs from a vehicle computerand sensors can also be inputs into the lighting system.

In some variations gesturing may be used to operate and adjust thelighting. In such cases, gestures may be detected using, for example,infrared (IR) illumination and detection, with infrared illuminationfrom for example IR LEDs or VCSELs. Occupants may use gesturing tocommunicate with the light source, such as to turn on or off the source,adjust its direction, intensity, and color. Light sources mayautomatically follow the movement of a passenger with dynamic beamsteering.

As shown in FIG. 2, for example, these illumination systems can employone or more detectors (e.g., sensor, or camera) that may function in theIR, ultrasonic, radar, and/or LiDAR range. Controllers and processorscan take the detector, sensor, and/or camera output signals as input tooutput lighting control to the light source(s) and, for example, controlthe lighting of pixel elements in a matrix array by controlling whichCMOS transistors are turned on and off, or controlling the laser beamrastering of color converting elements or pixels via a MEMS based mirrorarray or an acousto-optic reflector or deflector, for example, orcontrolling the light source segments of a waveguide that control theradiation pattern or distribution emitted by the waveguide.

Light color may be adjusted based on ambient light for example if it isdark, red light may be chosen so as to not disturb the night vision ofthe vehicle driver or driver of other vehicles in proximity.

Internal vehicle lighting should have a vertical illuminance (in avertical plane) to illuminate an occupant with minimal glare to theoccupant and external or internal observer. Vehicle lighting should alsohave a horizontal illuminance to illuminate a surface such as a seatingor floor area with minimal glare to the observer. When measured on avertical plane, the lighting should be higher than the horizontalilluminance for occupant illumination. When measured on a horizontalplane, the lighting should be higher than the vertical illuminance forhorizontal area illumination. It should also minimize glare fromreaching the driver or occupant. One solution is to use luminaires withasymmetric light output.

Illuminance (E) is the amount of light that falls on an area of asurface and can be measured in units of lux (lx) and is the same aslumens/m² (lm/m²). The illuminance on a plane normal to the direction ofpropagation of light, such as a horizontal surface of a vehicle, isequal to the luminous intensity (I) divided by the square of thedistance (D). The distance D is the mounting height (h) of the lightsource divided by the cosine of the angle between a vertical line at themeasurement point on the street surface to the line connecting the pointto the light source:

E=I/D²=I/(h/cos

)²=I cos²

/h² and for the point directly beneath the light source (

=0°), then E=I/h².

The illuminance on a horizontal surface of the vehicle interior is theilluminance E multiplied by the cosine of the angle between thedirection of propagation of light to the street and the street is thehorizontal illuminance Ehoriz and is the illuminance on the horizontalsurface:Ehoriz=I cos

/D ²=(I cos

)/(h/cos

)² =I cos³

/h ².

For a seated occupant in the vehicle, the illuminance on the occupant isthe illuminance E multiplied by the cosine of the angle between thedirection of propagation of light to the occupant and plane normal. Thisis the vertical illuminance Evert and is the illuminance on a verticalsurface, such as an occupant. If the height of the occupant is hp, thenthe vertical illuminance on the pedestrian is:Evert=I sin

/D ²=(I sin

)/((h−hp)/cos

)² =I sin

cos²

/(h−hp)².

Luminance (L) is the light emitted, transmitted, or reflected from asurface in a specific direction per unit area and can be measured inCd/m² or nit. A candela is the same as a lumen/steradian (lm/sr). In thecase of the occupant, an observer in the vehicle would perceive theluminance of the (vertical) illuminance reflected off the occupant. Thisis related to how bright the occupant appears when viewed from aspecific direction, however the appearance of the surroundings and theobserver's eye adaptation level with the object luminance also come intoplay. In the case of a projection on a horizontal surface, an observerin a vehicle would perceive the luminance of the (horizontal)illuminance reflected off the surface. Luminance and contrast are bothused in calculating the appearance of a surface or an object on thesurface.

Light on a surface is either reflected, absorbed, and/or transmitted.For the surface projection and occupant illumination, we are mainlyconcerned with reflected light. There are various types of reflectedlight such as specular and diffuse. Specular such as a reflection from amirror or mirror like surface is reflected at an opposite angle ofincidence and with an intensity nearly equal to the incident ray. For adiffuse reflecting surface, light is scattered and reflected in alldirections. An image projected onto a vehicle surface or projected ontoan occupant may have a mostly diffuse reflection. Illumination ofclothing, seat coverings, and carpeting for example results in a mostlya diffuse reflector. The luminance of a perfectly diffuse reflector is:L=RE/π,

where R is the reflectance, E is the illuminance, and π is pisteradians.

Contrast is the visual difference between an object and its backgroundand is often expressed as:C=(L _(p) −L _(background))/L _(background).

Contrast can be positive or negative and can range from very largepositive numbers when the background luminance is very low to somethingclose to −1 when the object luminance is very low. However, for alighted object (brighter than ambient or background) contrast C will bepositive and for a shadow or dark more absorbing object (object dimmerthan ambient or background) contrast C will be negative.

For the lit horizontal object,C=((R _(p) Ehoriz/π)−L _(background))/L _(background).

The only variable that can be controlled is the horizontal illuminancefrom the light source on the object. The background luminance isdetermined by the surroundings and can be very low at night or brighterwith ambient light. The reflectivity of the object Rp is largelydetermined by the object material and finish. Bright backgroundluminance and reduce contrast make it more difficult to discern apositive contrast object. To compensate for a higher backgroundluminance Lbackground, horizontal illuminance Ehoriz must be increasedfor an observer to clearly see an object.

Similarly, for the lit vertical object or occupant,C=((Rp Evert/π)−L _(background))/L _(background),and the previous discussion applies. The only variable that can becontrolled is the vertical illuminance from the light source on theoccupant or object. The background luminance is determined by thesurroundings and can be very low at night or brighter with ambientlight. The reflectivity of the object Rp is largely determined by theoccupant or object. Bright background luminance and reduce contrast makeit more difficult to discern a positive contrast object. To compensatefor a higher background luminance L_(background), vertical illuminanceEvert must be increased for an observer to clearly see the occupant orobject.

Depending on background luminance a horizontal illuminance Ehoriz orvertical illuminance Evert of at least 0.01, 0.1, 1, 5, 10, 20, or 30 lxis needed to provide adequate projection visibility. Glare is anotherconsideration in designing a projection illumination system. Glare canbe from a light source that is not properly aimed and could affect theoccupant, observer, or driver. Glare happens when luminance is muchhigher than the luminance to which the eyes are adapted to. Discomfortglare occurs when the observer experiences discomfort or pain whenviewing the light source, but disability glare limits or prevents theobserver from performing a visual task, such as discerning a projectionor the associated dangers. Projection lighting systems will need tomitigate disability glare. An object being illuminated has a thresholdcontrast C_(Threshold) at which the projection may just be detected thatis a probability of detection of 50% and depends on such things asvisual angle α of the object that is related to object size, length ofobservation time t_(observe), the adaption luminance L_(adaption) of theobserver, and the age of the observer. For projection safety, lightingconditions must provide an actual contrast CActual that is greater thanthreshold contrast C_(Threshold). The visibility level VL is defined asthe ratio of the actual contrast to the threshold contrast:VL=C _(Actual) /C _(Threshold) =C _(Actual) /C _(Threshold)(α,t_(observe) ,L _(adaption),age)

The higher the VL, the greater the chances that the projection is seen.VL provides a measure of the performance of a projection system.Visibility level VL for concrete and asphalt as a function ofreflectivity R.

The internal vehicle illumination system can provide a spot lightilluminating a passenger and providing ample illuminance in the verticalplane Evert for each passenger in the vehicle. The spot light canemanate from a single light source such as an array or, multiple lightsources spatially separated can be used. The spot illumination need notbe circular in shape and may be any shape that illuminates thepassengers and can follow the passengers in real time. This spotillumination can be provided by light rays traveling in a directionhorizontal to the floorplan and normal to the vertical plane of thepassenger and increase the vertical illuminance Evert. Some extra spotillumination may be provided to the seat or floor area Ehorizsurrounding the passengers, The horizontal illuminance following thepassengers in real time can be any shape including for instance arectangular section that follows the passenger's movement. This Ehorizilluminance can be in the form of a projection, where the areasurrounding the passenger can be highlighted with a projection on orabove the floorpan, for example a partial or full circular-oval orsquare-rectangular type shape in white or red for example. Thehorizontal illumination that is not part of the projection can besuppressed in an area around the passenger and the projection tomaximize contrast, this suppressed or dark spot of horizontalillumination Ehoriz can also follow the passenger. Alternatively, amobile phone or display device in the vehicle can be used to adjust theinterior lighting.

Referring again to FIG. 1 and to FIG. 2, an infrared (IR) light source,for example a VCSEL or LED array can be used with a camera to detectobjects and occupants in the vehicle. The IR light sources may bemounted in or integrated with the visible light sources or may bemounted separately. The camera may comprise a CCD and digital signalprocessor (DSP) that communicate with each other as shown in FIG. 2. TheDSP may also communicate with the processor or an image analysis unitthat can have an image input to which the DSP connects, an imagingprocessing unit, a CPU that can send an exposure signal back to thecamera DSP, program, and memory. The camera DSP may further comprise ananalog digital converter (ADC) that receives a CCD input, a colorconverter unit that outputs a digital image signal to the image input ofthe imaging processing unit, an exposure control unit that outputs asignal to the CCD, a register that receives an exposure signal from theCPU of the image processing unit and outputs signals to the exposurecontrol unit and the color converter unit. The CPU of the image analysisunit or processor can output a signal to a controller of the lightsources.

Based on the processor output, the controller can turn on and offvarious light sources and control the beam the beam pattern from each ofthe individual light sources. Optionally the CPU of the image analysisunit or processor can also output a signal to a control unit of the IRlight source, or the controller can operate and control all the lightsources including the visible and IR. This illustrates one embodimentand instead of or in addition to a camera and IR source, ultrasonic,LiDAR, radar, heat sensors that may detect IR, or pressure sensitivepads that can be installed below ground with appropriate sensors ordetectors may be used along with optional supplemental sources used togenerate the radiation or signal of the source to be detected.

The computing module can take the detector and transceiver inputs togenerate appropriate illumination and/or projection location, intensity,and colors based on these inputs. The computer module can also sendinformation via the transceiver to mobile devices, vehicles, and remoteservers through the network or Ethernet.

The controller and processor can be integrated together in the same unitor module (e.g., the computing module shown in FIG. 1). Likewise,visible and IR light source can be integrated together in the samefixture or any optional supplemental radiation source such asultrasonic, radar, VCSEL, LED array, or LiDAR can be integrated togetherin a fixture. It is also possible to integrate all electronics togetherin the light source, so that detector radiation, detector, processor,controller as well as visible light emitting elements are together in amodule or fixture that may be termed as a smart light or smart lightingsource.

Embodiments of this invention include using LED and laser light sourcesand arrays that can be positioned on the vehicles for interiorprojection and illumination. The projections and illumination can beused for occupant and vehicle illumination such as seating and floorarea as well as door handles, latches, control knobs, clocks, gauges andthe like. Projection and illumination sources can be located in theinterior roof, along the sides of the roof, above or in or along the topof the side windows, rear window, or windshield, along the interiorsides, the interior rear, the front including dashboard and firewall,front and rear seats, door sills, and floor. Lighting can outline oraccent all interior areas or components and or illuminate these areas oroccupants.

Illumination and/or projection devices (light sources) used in thesystems, devices, and methods described herein may be or comprise an LEDarray or laser system. An LED and laser device is discussed in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/802,273, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety. A pixelated LED array, including amicroLED array and laser pumped array are described in this reference.Such LED arrays are also described further, below, with reference toFIG. 3A-7.

The light sources may be or comprise a non-pixelated waveguide that maybe edge-lit, embedded, or center-lit or a combination thereof.

Vehicle interior lighting includes, illumination such as a dome light, areading or map lamps and occupant illumination that can be white, coolwhite (CW), warm white (WW), decorative, environmental, or mood lightingsuch as star projection on the headliner area, white and direct colorand combinations, accent lighting—interior door panels, center console,dashboard highlights—for example knobs and switch clusters in white, CW,WW, direct color and combinations.

Control for the vehicle interior lighting system may have vehiclecomputer input, such as speed and direction—forward or reverse, ambientlight, ambient temperature, user input via interface—i.e. direct touchto lamp, touch screen, slider and/or rotational knob input, switches,etc.

Embodiments of the vehicle interior lighting includewaveguide—non-pixelated and microLED array—pixelated light sources.Waveguide non-pixelated embodiments include occupant illumination beampattern by quadrant intensity, light absorbing cover, low glare tooccupant and driver, and modular circular and semicircular shapes.

Spatial luminance distribution includes shape, appearance, glarecharacteristics. Light angular distribution includes Lambertian (lowglare), batwing up/down (low glare), symmetric, asymmetric (rotationaland up/down), backlight with angular distributions achieved by dotpattern that may be limited by the ink properties with a tradeoffbetween wider distribution and efficiency. Lambertian ink, Gaussian ink,translucent ink, white ink may be used. Waveguide in-coupling includes:direct-lit or embedded, edge-lite, center-lit, and combinations thereof.

Waveguide materials includes: Glass, polycarbonate (PC, i.e., Lexan™),poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA, i.e., Plexiglas™, Acrylite™, Lucite™).Relative temperature index (RTI) in Celsius is the maximum servicetemperature for a material and transmittance generally decreases withincreasing RTI. RTI95, RTI90 and RTI50 for example are of interest.

Surface treatment of the waveguide to incorporate light extractionfeatures include, embossed, translucent, 2-sided translucent, white,2-sided white, laser extraction features are of interest. Dual-sided dotpattern (DSDP) can extract more light out of the LGP but at the expenseof uniformity compared to single-side dot pattern (SSDP). Back reflectorof the waveguide light source may include a specular reflector, diffusereflector, combination of specular and diffuse, or no reflector. Thelight emitting side of the waveguide may include a top film of adiffuser and de-glare, diffuser, de-glare, or none. The waveguide orlight guide plate (LGP) profile or cross section can be concave, wedge,or flat. Wedging or grooving the LGP can be used to improve uniformityand reduce house lighting in Type III (60-70 degrees) street lightingapplication. LGP shape car be circular, octagonal, polygonal,rectangular, or square. Beam steering (pattern distribution) may beaccomplished by segmented (sector) illumination (intensity) withdynamically controllable light distribution.

The waveguide light sources made be embedded, center lit, edge lit or acombination of these.

The light distribution can be dynamically controllable with reducedglare, high contrast, and may have a light absorbing or black cover. Thelight source may have a circular shape and may be modular. For example,a circular shaped unit may be located between a front and rear seat andused to illuminate the 2 or 3 front row passengers and the 2 or 3 rearseat passengers. A semicircular unit that is modular to the circularunit can be used to illuminate a third row seat that also holds 2 or 3rear most passengers. Seating rows may face each other and passengerssitting face to face may be illuminated by the same light source.

MicroLED pixelated embodiments include color adjustable WW, CW, and lowglare. Single or multiple quadrants of microLED arrays can have a lightabsorbing cover, be low glare to occupant and driver, and modularcircular and semicircular shapes, for example, a circular shaped unitmay be between a front and rear seat and used to illuminate the 2 or 3front row passengers and the 2 or 3 rear seat passengers. A semicircularunit that is modular to the circular unit can be used to illuminate athird row seat that also holds 2 or 3 rear most passengers.

Switching on array pixels can provide beam steering to one or multipleoccupants and occupants can be in reverse and forward facing rows sothat passengers are face to face with one another. A light absorbing(black) cover for low glare and high contrast may also be used.

The lighting system includes one or more light sources that can providea horizontal and vertical illuminance. In various embodiments thevertical illuminance can be less than the horizontal illuminance, thevertical illuminance can be equal the horizontal illuminance, and thevertical illuminance can be greater than the horizontal illuminance. Ingeneral, it is desirable that the vertical illuminance be greater thanthe horizontal illuminance, so that the passenger is in positivecontrast and background luminance is minimized.

However, an optional projection can work in conjunction with the spotlighting to provide a line or boundary, partial or full around apassenger. These projections can be projected on the floor and can havea local horizontal illuminance that is much higher than the surroundinghorizontal illuminance. In these embodiments with projections, thehorizontal illuminance of the projection can be higher than thesurrounding local horizontal illuminance and approach the verticalilluminance of the passenger, be equal to the vertical illuminance ofthe passenger, or be greater than the vertical illuminance of thepassenger. Preferably, the spatial zone of the projection does notsignificantly overlap with the spatial zone of the vertical illuminanceof the passenger.

In one embodiment, the vertical illuminance is one-half or more thehorizontal illuminance. In another embodiment, the vertical illuminanceis at least equal to the horizontal illuminance. In yet anotherembodiment, the vertical illuminance is at least twice the horizontalilluminance. Another embodiment, the vertical illuminance is at leastfive times the horizontal illuminance. In an embodiment, the horizontalilluminance of the projection is at least twice the horizontalilluminance of the surroundings. In another embodiment, the horizontalilluminance of the projection is at least five times the horizontalilluminance of the surroundings. In an embodiment, the horizontalilluminance of the projection can be about equal to the verticalilluminance of the pedestrian. In another embodiment, the horizontalilluminance of the projection can be greater than the verticalilluminance of the passenger. In an embodiment, the verticalillumination of the passenger has minimal overlap with the horizontalilluminance of the projection in the observer's view. In an embodiment,the luminance of a passenger is at least twice luminance of thebackground or local background (outside of a projection). In anotherembodiment, the luminance of a passenger is at least five times theluminance of the background. In yet another embodiment, the luminance ofa passenger is at least ten times the luminance of the background. Inone embodiment, the vertical illuminance of a passenger is at least 0.1lx. In one embodiment, the vertical illuminance of a passenger is atleast 1 lx. In one embodiment, the vertical illuminance of a passengeris at least 2 lx. In one embodiment, the vertical illuminance of apassenger is at least 5 lx. In one embodiment, the vertical illuminanceof a passenger is at least 10 lx. In another embodiment, the verticalilluminance of a passenger is at least 20 lx. In yet another embodiment,the vertical illuminance of a pedestrian is at least 30 lx. In stillanother embodiment, the vertical illuminance of a passenger is at least50 lx. In still yet another embodiment, the vertical illuminance of apassenger is at least 100 lx.

As noted above, the system may provide spot lighting or illumination ofthe passenger, where the vertical illumination of an object or passengercan be greater than the vertical illumination outside the spatial zoneof this spot illumination. In an embodiment, the spot verticalillumination is at least 1.5 times the vertical illumination outside thespot. In another embodiment, the spot vertical illumination is at leasttwice the vertical illumination outside the spot. In yet anotherembodiment, the spot vertical illumination is at least five times thevertical illumination outside the spot. The horizontal illumination canalso be dimmed or turned off around the passenger and this dark holefollows the passenger, so that the vertical illumination of the spotlighting and horizontal illumination of the optional projection.

The power consumption for the interior lighting system of this inventioncan be lower than conventional systems. For example, the spot lightingof individual occupants or objects in the vehicle can supply excellentvertical illuminance on the occupant or object, without having to supplythis level and uniformity of vertical illumination over a large area ofthe vehicle interior. For conventional lighting systems, the powerconsumption does depend on the area of illumination. Lighting system ofthis invention can be turned off when not needed or can be dimly litwith a horizontal illuminance. When needed, the horizontal illuminationcan increase, so that the occupant or object is sufficiently illuminatedand increased vertical illumination is provided to make the occupant orobject readily visible. For computer modeling a seated passenger may berepresented as 3 feet tall with an eye height of 2 feet 7 inches and areflectance of 18%. The use of these lighting systems using LED arraysand/or laser light source, detector, optional emission for the detector,processor and controller may provide for greatly improved passengerlighting and may save on power consumption.

As noted above, the illumination and/or projection devices used in thesystems, devices, and methods described herein may be or include an LEDarray or laser. Some aspects of such LED arrays are further describednext, with reference to FIG. 3A-FIG. 7.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show plan and schematic views of an example M×N matrixpixelated microLED 200, comprising M×N pixels 205. The number ofindividual pixels in the array can be, for example, 2 to 10 and can beused in a mobile phone flash and the like, 10 to 50 in some embodiments,50 to 100 in some embodiments, 100 to 500 in other embodiments, 500 to1000 in other embodiments, 1000 to 2500 in yet other embodiments, 2500to 5000 in yet other embodiments, 5000 to 10000 in still yet otherembodiments, these can be used for instance in adaptive vehicleheadlights, adaptive street lights, adaptive crosswalk illumination andthe like. Still other embodiments include 10000 to 100000 and 100000 to500000 that can use LED or laser light sources, 500000 to 1000000, and1000000 to 100000000 that can use laser light source or sources such asa raster scanned laser(s) may be used. Raster scanning may beaccomplished with a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) based mirror orwith an acousto-optic reflector or deflector. These embodiments can besuitable for displays.

FIG. 4A shows a partial cross sectional view of one embodiment of an LEDmatrix array 200. The n (205) and p-type (210) semiconductor layerssandwich an active region that emits light. The n and p-typesemiconductor layers and the active region may themselves containmultiple layers of different doping levels and compositions. For examplethe active region may be a single light emitting layer, a homojunction,a single heterojunction, a double heterojunction or heterostructure, asingle quantum well heterostructure (SQW), a multiple quantum well (MQW)structure, or a superlattice (SL) structure. The n and p-typesemiconductor layers may be for example GaN or AlGaN and the activeregion may be InGaN and GaN. Other semiconductor material systemsinclude AlGaInP, AlGaAs, and AlGaInAsP for example. Once the epitaxiallayers are grown, trenches can be etched through the p-layers and intothe thicker n-layer.

The p-n junction can be passivated with a dielectric, such as SiOx,AlOx, SiON, SiAlON, TaOx, AlOx, or Si3N4 or the like to prevent shortingor may be isolated by ion implantation, such as hydrogen, carbon, andoxygen ions for example. In the example of FIG. 4A, such dielectric maybe deposited on surfaces of the n and p layers in regions 220. Metalcontacting the n-layer and the dielectric can extend to the p-layerside. P-metal may be deposited before or after the trench etch.

In one embodiment, metal contacts 240 to n-type material can extend tothe p-side surface with isolation from the p-type material. The p-typeand n-type metal electrodes may then be on the same side and can bebonded to a silicon wafer that may contain electronics such as aswitching transistor, TVS, open and/or short detection and the like.Bonding can include soldering, such as AuSn or SnAgCu (SAC) solders, ora GGI bond using thermal and ultrasonic energy to form an Au bondinterconnect.

The metal may be extended by plating for example past the n-layer afterthe growth substrate, for example sapphire, is removed. The n-metal canserve as the seed for plating and may be exposed by growth substrateremoval, if the p-side trench and metallization extends completelythrough the n-layer to the substrate, by thinning the p-layer, or asubsequent trench etch from the n-side after substrate removal. The pand n-metal contacts are preferably reflective and may be for exampleAg, Al, Ni, Ti, TiW, TiWN, Au, Zn and combinations and layers thereof.The extensions beyond the n-surface can be a reflective metal asdescribed above or a TCO, such as ITO, ISO, AZO, IZO or a dielectric,such as sapphire, photoresist, SiOx, SiON, SiAlON, TaOx, AlOx, or Si3N4that may be reflective by TIR or a metallic coating.

The extensions may be used to hold or contain a wavelength converter225, such as phosphor in silicone or other suitable binder or a ceramicphosphor. Phosphor may be applied by dispensing, ink-like jet printing,sedimentation, EPD, stenciling, spraying or molding. The pixel may befor example square, round, oval, or rectangular in shape. FIG. 4B andFIG. 4C show that the p-electrode 230 can be square, rectangular,circular, or oval in shape surrounded by a thin dielectric 235 and then-electrode 240 around the perimeter. The n-electrode may completelysurround (FIG. 4A and FIG. 6), partially surround (FIG. 5A), or be toone side of the p-electrode (FIG. 7). The n-electrode may also overlapthe p-electrode separated by a dielectric (FIG. 5B).

The electrodes may be connected in the device or by the Si backplane 245(schematically shown for example in FIG. 7) in a common cathode or anodeconfiguration. The n and p-layer and electrode positions are shown inthe figures for convenience, but their positions can also be swappedthat is opposite from what is shown.

Multiple matrix arrays may be used in an illumination device and thesemultiple arrays may be spaced apart from one another and do not have tobe adjacent in an extended matrix configuration. For instance, onematrix in a crosswalk illumination system may provide for crosswalkillumination and another matrix is used to provide spot lighting thatfollows the pedestrians as they cross the street.

Pixel size d1 (FIG. 4A and FIG. 6) may be for example from submicron to1 micron, 1 micron to 10 microns, 10 microns to 50 microns, and 50microns to 500 microns in various embodiments. Pixel spacing d2 may bedetermined by width of the metal layer (FIG. 6) or may include an actualgap (FIG. 4A). Pixel spacing d2 may be for example less than 0.1 micron,0.1 to 1 micron, 1 micron to 5 microns, and 5 to 50 microns embodiments.Pixel spacing d2 may depend on pixel size d1.

Pixels may be in any shape or combination of shapes, for examplecircular, square, rectangular, triangular, hexagonal and combinationsthereof. Phosphor particle sizes may depend on pixel size d1 and may beat least d1/10 or smaller in size. The luminous flux of these arrays canbe 10-4 to 10-3 lumens (lm), 10-3 to 0.1 lm, 0.1 to 10 lm, 10 to 1000lm, 1000 to 10000 lm, 10000 to 100000 lm, and 0.1 to 5×106 lm in someembodiments. The luminance of these arrays can be 10 to 100 lux (lx),100 to 500 lx, 500 to 1000 lx, 1000 to 50000 lx, 50000 to 500000 lx,0.5×106 to 1×106 lx, 1×106 to 10×106 lx, and 10×106 to 5000×106 lx insome embodiments. The illuminance of these arrays may be 10 to 100 nit,100 to 1000 nit, 1000 to 10000 nit, 10000 to 100000 nit, 0.1×106 to1×106 nit, 1×106 to 1000×106 nit in some embodiments. The luminance andilluminance of these arrays can be measured without external optics andcan include laser as well as LED arrays. Luminous efficacy can be 1 to20 lm/W, 20 to 200 lm/W, and 200 to 500 lm/W in some embodiments. Thesearrays may be packaged with primary optics, such as lenslet arrays orcompound parabolic concentrators (CPC) and may include secondary opticssuch as a projection lens.

This disclosure is illustrative and not limiting. Further modificationswill be apparent to one skilled in the art in light of this disclosureand are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.

The following enumerated paragraphs (clauses) provide additionalnon-limiting examples of the disclosure.

1. A vehicle interior lighting system comprising: a light source; adetector; a processor; and a controller; wherein the system isconfigured so that light from the light source illuminates a vehicleinterior and provides spot illumination to moving objects in thevehicle, such that the spot illumination follows the moving object.

2. The lighting system of clause 1, wherein the lighting system isstationary within the vehicle.

3. The lighting system of clause 1, wherein the light source comprisesone of a LED and laser.

4. The lighting system of clause 1, wherein the light source comprises aLED array.

5. The lighting system of clause 1, wherein the light source comprises amicroLED array.

6. The lighting system of clause 1, wherein the light source comprises alaser and wavelength converter.

7. The lighting system of clause 1, wherein the system is furtherconfigured to provide a spot of reduced horizontal illuminance thatfollows the moving object for increased contrast.

8. The lighting system of clause 1, wherein the system further comprisesa projection at least partially surrounding and following a passenger.

9. The lighting system of clause 8, wherein the projection is one ofcircular, oval, square, and rectangular.

10. The lighting system of clause 1, wherein the system further providesa projection that comprises one or more color.

11. The lighting system of clause 5, wherein the microLED arraycomprises LED chips, mounted and electrically connected to CMOScircuitry on a silicon wafer, wherein the LED chips are separated by adielectric and metal that extends above a semiconductor surface of theLED chip and is filled with a wavelength converter.

12. The lighting system of clause 1, wherein the system comprises avertical illuminance that is at least twice the horizontal illuminance.

13. The lighting system of clause 1, wherein the system comprises avertical illuminance that is at least five times the horizontalilluminance.

14. The lighting system of clause 8, wherein the horizontal illuminanceof the projection is at least twice the horizontal illuminance of thesurrounding non-illuminated area.

15. The lighting system of clause 8, wherein the horizontal illuminanceof the projection is at least equal to the vertical illuminance of thepassenger.

16. The lighting system of clause 8, wherein the horizontal illuminanceof the projection is less than the vertical illuminance of thepassenger.

17. The lighting system of clause 1, wherein the system furthercomprises a transceiver capable of communication with a network.

18. The lighting system of clause 17, wherein the system furthercomprises a transceiver capable of communication with at least one of avehicle, a mobile phone, and a remote server over the network.

19. A vehicle interior lighting system comprising: a light sourcecomprising: one of a microLED array and a waveguide; a detector; aprocessor; and a controller; wherein the system is configured so thatlight from the light source illuminates a vehicle interior and providesillumination to a moving passenger in the vehicle, such that theillumination is capable of following the moving passenger.

20. The vehicle interior lighting system of claim 19, wherein thedetector is an IR detector.

21. The vehicle interior lighting system of clause 19, furthercomprising an IR light source.

22. The vehicle interior lighting system of clause 21, wherein the IRdetector is responsive to gesturing.

23. The vehicle interior lighting system of clause 22, wherein thelighting system responds to gesturing by one of changing state from oneof on and off, intensity, color, and beam location.

24. The vehicle interior lighting system of clause 21, wherein the IRlight source is one of a LED array or VCSEL.

25. The vehicle interior lighting system of clause 19, wherein thedetector is capable of detecting the location of a driver and vehicleoccupants, inputs this information to one of the processor andcontroller, the controller reducing the glare of the light source to atleast one of the passenger being illuminated, the other occupants, andthe driver.

26. The vehicle interior lighting system of clause 19, wherein thedetector is capable of detecting an ambient lighting and adjust at leastone of the color and intensity of the light source to preserve the nightvision of at least one of the passenger being illuminated, the otheroccupants, and the driver.

27. The vehicle interior lighting system of clause 26, wherein the coloris red.

28. The vehicle interior lighting system of clause 19, wherein thewaveguide is center-lit.

29. The vehicle interior lighting system of clause 19, wherein thewaveguide is a combination of center and edge-lit.

30. The vehicle interior lighting system of clause 28, wherein thewaveguide center light source is segmented.

31. The vehicle interior lighting system of clause 28, wherein thesegments of center light source can be individually operated and changethe light output distribution of the waveguide.

32. The vehicle interior lighting system of clause 29, wherein thewaveguide at least one of the center light source and edge light sourceis segmented.

33. The vehicle interior lighting system of clause 32, wherein thesegments of at least one of the center light source and edge lightsource can be individually operated and change the light outputdistribution of the waveguide.

34. The vehicle interior lighting system of clause 19, wherein thewaveguide is tapered.

35. The vehicle interior lighting system of clause 19, wherein the edgeof the waveguide includes a reflector.

36. The vehicle interior lighting system of clause 19, wherein thewaveguide is one of glass, PC, and PMMA.

37. The vehicle interior lighting system of clause 19, furthercomprising extraction features on the waveguide.

38. The vehicle interior lighting system of clause 37, wherein theextraction features are one of embossed, laser marked, and ink jetted.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle interior lighting system comprising: amicroLED array comprising a plurality of pixels, each pixel less than500 microns in size, a spacing between pixels less than 50 microns, theplurality of pixels mounted and electrically connected to CMOScircuitry; one or more detectors; a processor configured to receive andprocess signals from the one or more detectors to detect motion ofobjects and occupants in the vehicle; and a controller configured toreceive signals from the processor and in response control one or morepixels of the microLED array to provide spot illumination to movingobjects or occupants in the vehicle, such that the spot illuminationfollows the moving object or occupant.
 2. The vehicle interior lightingsystem of claim 1, configured to provide a spot of reduced horizontalilluminance that follows the moving object or occupant for increasedcontrast.
 3. The vehicle interior lighting system of claim 1, whereinthe spot illumination comprises a vertical illuminance on the movingobject or occupant and a horizontal illuminance on the moving object oroccupant, and the vertical illuminance is at least twice the horizontalilluminance.
 4. The vehicle interior lighting system of claim 3, whereinthe vertical illuminance is at least five times the horizontalilluminance.
 5. The vehicle interior lighting system of claim 1, whereinthe microLED array provides a projection at least partially surroundingand following the object or occupant.
 6. The vehicle interior lightingsystem of claim 5, wherein the projection is one of circular, oval,square, and rectangular.
 7. The vehicle interior lighting system ofclaim 5, wherein the projection comprises one or more color.
 8. Thevehicle interior lighting system of claim 5, wherein the horizontalilluminance of the projection is at least twice the horizontalilluminance of the surrounding non-illuminated area.
 9. The vehicleinterior lighting system of claim 5, wherein the horizontal illuminanceof the projection is at least equal to the vertical illuminance of thepassenger.
 10. The vehicle interior lighting system of claim 5, whereinthe horizontal illuminance of the projection is less than the verticalilluminance of the passenger.
 11. The vehicle interior lighting systemof claim 1, wherein the pixels are separated by a dielectric and metalthat extends above a semiconductor surface of the pixel and is filledwith a wavelength converter.
 12. The vehicle interior lighting system ofclaim 1, wherein the detector is capable of detecting an ambientlighting, and in response the controller adjust at least one of thecolor and intensity of the light source to preserve the night vision ofat least one occupant being illuminated, other occupants, and a driver.13. The vehicle interior lighting system of claim 12, wherein the coloris red.
 14. A vehicle interior lighting system comprising: a lightsource comprising a microLED array comprising a plurality of pixels,each pixel less than 500 microns in size, a spacing between pixels lessthan 50 microns, the plurality of pixels mounted and electricallyconnected to CMOS circuitry, or a waveguide; one or more detectors; aprocessor configured to receive and process signals from the one or moredetectors to detect motion of objects or occupants in the vehicle; and acontroller configured to receive signals from the processor and inresponse control the light source so that light from the light sourceilluminates the vehicle interior and provides illumination to a movingoccupant in the vehicle, such that the illumination is capable offollowing the moving occupant.
 15. The vehicle interior lighting systemof claim 14, wherein the detector is an IR light detector.
 16. Thevehicle interior lighting system of claim 15, comprising an IR lightsource.
 17. The vehicle interior lighting system of claim 16, whereinthe IR light detector is responsive to gesturing.
 18. The vehicleinterior lighting system of claim 17, configured to respond to gesturingby at least one of: changing state from one of on and off, changingillumination intensity, changing illumination color, and changing lightbeam location.
 19. The vehicle interior lighting system of claim 16,wherein the IR light source is one of an LED array or VCSEL.
 20. Thevehicle interior lighting system comprising: a light source comprising amicroLED, or a waveguide, or a microLED and a waveguide; a detectorcapable of detecting the location of occupants in the vehicle; aprocessor configured to receive and process signals from the detector todetect the location of occupants in the vehicle; and a controllerconfigured to receive signals from the processor and in response controlthe light source so that light from the light source illuminates thevehicle interior and reduces the glare of the light source to at leastone occupant in the vehicle being illuminated.